Filing cabinet with tiltable compartment



y 6, 1947- .1. w. PAXTON ET AL 2,420,011 FILING CABINET WITH TIL FiledOct. 2, 1944 Patented May 6, 1947 FILING CABINET WITH TILTABLECOMPARTMEN T John Warren Paxton and George and Irving Richard Cornish,Arlie L. Paxton and The Nation- Bloomington, Elmhurst, 111.;

Noble Paxton,

a] Bank of Bloomington, Bloomington, 111., executors of said GeorgeNoble Paxton, de-

ceased App'lication October 2, 1944, Serial No. 556,714

1 Claim.

This invention relates to filing cabinets of the type commonly known asside filing cabinets.

The main objects of this invention are to provide improved means fortiltably mounting the container in the open side of a casing forswinging between closed and open positions; to provide such an improvedcontainer-mounting means as will retain the container firmly in eitherits closed or open position; to provide an improved contamer-mountingmeans of this kind which shifts the container forwardly and rearwardlyhorizontally of the casing as the container is swung to and from itsopen position; to provide an improved container-mounting means embodyingall these advantages and which permits the container to be readilyinserted into or removed from the cabinet; and to provide an improvedstructure for side-filing cabinets which is simple and economical inconstruction, easy and positive in operation, and which may beconstructed of either wood or metal, or their appropriate substitutes.

In the particular embodiment of the invention herein shown:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of a two drawer filing cabinet, the lowercontainer being shown in its open position, the upper container in itsclosed position;

Fig. 2 is a transverse sectional View showing in full lines the twomiddle containers of a multiple container tier, one of the middlecontainers being shown in its closed position and the other in its openposition.

The filing cabinet embodying the essential features of this inventioncomprises a casing 3 in which are tiltably mounted, one or morecontainers 4 supported therein by means of a mounting mechanism 5whereby the container may be conveniently swung or tilted forwardly andrearwardly between its opened and closed positions. Each of thecontainers is equipped with a follower 6 whereby the contents are heldin proper vertical position regardless of the quantity of material inthe container or the position of the container.

The casing may be constructed of wood or metal, or any of theirappropriate substitutes. It comprises the usual sides I. back 8, top 9,and bottom It. The front of the casing is provided with top and bottomre-enforcing cross slats II. The back 8 is re-enforced by strips l2placed at strategic points.

The container 4 is made up of a front-bottom part l3 and a bottom-backpart l4, and end or side members IS.

The front-bottom part l3 has its upper and position the pair of gears l8travel along 2 lower edges bevelled at l6 so that in the closedpositions of the containers the fronts are flush as shown in Fig. 2.Knobs or handles I 1 are arranged on the front-bottom parts 13 tofacilitate swinging the containers.

The bottom-back section [4 is preferably formed of two pieces spacedapart so as to provide a lateral slot to receive an extension on thefollower 6 whereby it is supported in its slidable vertical position, ashas been more fully set forth in our Patent No. 2,364,912, which issuedDecember 12, 1944.

The container mounting mechanism 5 comprises a gear 18 and rack l9arrangement. The gear i8 is of the mutilated type and one is fixed oneach side or end of a container. Arack I9 is fixed on each side or endof the casing l. The toothed arrangement of the rack and pinion providesa pivotal relationship of the container on the casing whereby, when thecontainer is shifted between its open and closed positions, it isadvanced, or retracted horizontally at the same time that it is beingopened and closed. That is, when the container is pulled downwardly toan open the pair of racks l9 and advance the container outwardly of thecasing, so as to make the contents of the container more accessible forhandling than would be the case if the container were mounted on a fixedpivot. Likewise, when the container is pushed backwardly the gears l8retract it horizontally into the casing.

In order to insure the complete closing of the container, and avoid anyaccidental or inadvertent opening thereof, a resilient member 20 issecured to the casing side I or back 8 to engage a flattened portion 2!on the gear l8, when the container i in its closed position.

To check the movement of the container as it approaches its closedposition and also to aid in yieldingly holding it in its closedposition, a flexible stop 22 is secured on the inner face of the side 1so that the rear corners of the bottom-back member l4 strike the stop 22and the container is eased in its approach to position of rest on thesupporting abutment 23.

The use and operation of the filing cabinet is believed to be clearlyapparent from the foregoing description.

Variations and modifications in the details of the structure andarrangement of the parts may be resorted to within the spirit andcoverage of the appended claim.

We claim:

In a filing cabinet, a casing having a vertical 3 front provided with arectangular opening therein, a swinging side-filing storage containermounted in said casing and having a rectangular fac panel which innormal storage position of the container extends in a vertical plane andserves as a closure for said opening, and connections between saidcontainer and casing for controlling the swinging of said containercomprising a rack fixed on said casing with its pitchrline horizontaland a substantial distance above the lower end of said face panel in itsstorage position and a gear fixed to said container meshing with saidrack and at all times having its axis located above the rack rearwardlyof the opening and intermediate the height of the opening, 15

whereby said container is adapted to swing outwardly in said openingthrough an angle of 90 REFERENCES CITED The following references are ofrecord in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,929,095 Hutchings Oct. 3, 19331,251,574 Randall Jan. 1, 1918 1,555,689 Miller Sept. 29, 1925

